Ryan Fitzpatrick – September 11, 2019
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Wednesday, September 11, 2019
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(Pretty physical practice today?) – “It was good. It was good. You get one day a week to be in pads out there in practice, and I thought (there was) good energy, a good tempo to the day. (It was) real physical, so I thought we got a lot out of it today.”
(How did a 36-year-old – how do you get through, what you got hit 10 times or so on Sunday?) – “It was good. I still, in a sick way, enjoy that aspect of it a little bit. Getting hit makes me feel more like a football player, kind of as I said in preseason with some of the stuff. That stuff is no big deal. It’s part of the game, and there’s some stuff we’ve got to correct. There are a lot of things I can do better. We just learn from the film and move on, but my body feels good.”
(I wouldn’t imagine though it’s the most sustainable way to go through a season, getting hit like that.) – “I don’t know if you’re trying to make me jinx myself. (laughter) I’ve been pretty healthy throughout my career being able to play through all that stuff.”
(I’m wondering what your kids said to you after the game on Sunday.) – “They were happy to see dad, No. 1. You know what’s amazing – the conversation with my older boys is now mainly about fantasy (football), which just drives me insane. (laughter) And my younger ones – they don’t know what the score is. They just know that they think they saw ‘Dad’ out there. That stuff just always puts it in proper perspective a little bit; but for me, there’s always – especially with my 10 and my 12-year-old, there are always lessons that I want them to be able to watch dad out there playing and for them to figure out or take with them. I think about that a little bit, especially when you’re in a game like that where it’s a struggle and you’re losing and just trying to continue to do your best.”
(Do they have you on their fantasy teams?) – “Oh, yeah.”
(You’re the starting quarterback?) – “You better believe it. (laughter)”
(Do they have any of your receivers?) – “I don’t know. I’m not sure on that one, but they were a lot happier with me in the opener last year than this year. (laughter)”
(What are some of the things you talked about in terms of limiting the hits that you take whether it’s recognizing protection, calling out protection or getting rid of the ball faster or whatever. What are some of the things you might focus on?) – “I think we could do everything better. I don’t think it was one or two things. I think there were a lot of different things that came up. I’m going to try to control the ones I can control. The guys up front will the do the same. The running backs will do the same. There’s a lot of different things that came up, but I think the biggest thing is just working towards limiting some of that stuff moving forward, no matter who was at fault or who needs to get better at it. Just continue to work to do it better and realizing we’re all on the same team and in this together. For me, there’s a lot of communication stuff I could do better and then getting the ball out and all that, there’s a lot of stuff I could get better at.”
(You’re a pretty smart guy. How smart do you have to be against the Patriots defense?) – “They’re a great team, and obviously I’ve played them a bunch. (I have made) 10, 11, 12 starts, something like that against them. I’ve played them quite a bit in different cities, obviously, but they’re a great team and have been for a long time, so it’ll be a tough opponent for us.
(Do you feel more comfortable with Head Coach Brian Flores being a former defensive coordinator and you playing them so many times that the game plan for this week?) – “Every year is different, and being in a new system with new guys, that presents different challenges and obstacles. Every year is a different team on both sides, but for me especially, just being in a new system on a new team, it’s going to be treated differently for sure.”
(How much do you think the communication and I guess the game plan was affected by – you guys had a lot of changes, I guess, up front – last week?) – “I don’t know. I think for two guys to come in basically that week, and for a guy to move, they held up pretty good in terms of the communication and that snap count and the moving parts. I think a lot of that was good, and they worked really hard throughout the week. We all did to kind of hammer that out. I think we’ll continue to get better in that area just with guys being more comfortable with each other and knowing the system a little bit better and knowing how to play off each other a little bit better.”
(Considering how long you guys have been in the league, is it extra special for you, extra competitive when it’s you versus QB Tom Brady?) – “It’s obviously a team game, and it’s never just one quarterback versus the other. I know – not with me, but with the big names – people like to pit them together. I just like to go out there and play. That’s about it. I don’t really mind who’s on the other team.”
(We saw you guys did like a golf tournament with the other AFC East quarterbacks in the offseason. What’s your relationship with those guys since you’ve played?) – “I know (Buffalo Bills QB) Josh (Allen) and (New York Jets QB) Sam (Darnold) a little bit, just from being at events or the same agency or whatever it is together. They’re good dudes. I’ve seen them a couple different times. Obviously being – I played for both those franchises, so just talking to different guys whether it’s equipment guys or training staff or whatever it is, we’ve got some connections here or there.”
(One thing you hear about regarding the Patriots is that Head Coach Bill Belichick will often identity one guy on the opposing team and say, “we’re not going to let this guy beat us.” Is that something you agree with, or what do you see in their defensive philosophy that usually holds true throughout the year?) – “I think he’s got a pretty good track record with it. I think they’re very physical in what they do. I think the experience in the secondary really pops out. I just think they’re very detailed and very good at what they do. (They) know where their help is, all that stuff. It’s a very disciplined defense and a tough, aggressive defense as well. They always present issues for you, and they make you earn it, that’s for sure. They make you earn your yards down the field and your touchdowns.”
(I know it’s probably a coaching decision, but what do you think if you guys won the coin toss, got the ball first on offense, were able to put a drive together instead of playing from behind? What do you think that would do for the offense?) – “We harped on last week starting fast, and that’s something we didn’t do. We’ve definitely got to go out there and start fast, no matter when you have the opportunity. We’ve got to go out there and do a better job with that.”
(Is there anything you said to the guys this week after what happened Sunday?) – “Not really. We’ve just got to come to work, put that behind us and keep going. Keep going, keep practicing hard, getting better at what we do individually and collectively as a team, and then the results will follow.”
(You were probably pretty surprised at the way it kind of snowballed a little bit.) – “I don’t think anybody really saw it going that way; but yeah, like I said, put it behind you and move on.”
(Your kids’ ages?) – “Twelve, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 7 months.”
(You’ve got to remember that every year.) – “They’re either evens or odds (laughter). It helps me out a lot. Even if they haven’t all turned yet, I lie about it.”
